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The Influence of Campaign Money in Direct Democratic Votes: Is it Possible to Buy a Popular Vote

Type

Conference Paper

Citation

Milic, Thomas, The Influence of Campaign Money in Direct Democratic Votes: Is it Possible to Buy a Popular Vote. MPSA Annual Meeting 2013.

Abstract

The question what role money plays for direct democratic votes is not new. Many scholars have investigated the relationship between money and electoral success. All these studies, however, exhibit the same methodological flaw: there is no data about the citizens’ attitudes before the campaign sets in. Lacking such data, we cannot be sure about the causal effects of the campaign. This is where our study comes into play. Recently, pre-poll survey data about more than 40 Swiss referenda have been made publicly accessible for the first time. Based on this data we are able to address the question of the role of money in direct democratic systems more thoroughly. Specifically, we are finally able to analyse whether spending really led to an opinion change. The available data also enables us to identify which groups are most susceptible to media effects. Moreover, we employ a new measure for campaign spending. Because there are no regulations on electoral or voting campaign finances in Switzerland, little is known about the money involved in referendum campaigns. We employ a measure taking into account not only the political advertisements in newspapers, but also election posters.